{{Short description|Sandstone formation in Colorado}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Grand View Spire | other_name = | image = Grand View Spire.jpg | image_caption = East aspect | elevation_ft = 5821 | elevation_ref = <ref name="pb">{{cite peakbagger |pid=85836|name=Grandview Spire, Colorado|accessdate=2021-03-28}}</ref> | prominence_ft = 161 | prominence_ref = <ref name="pb"/> | isolation_mi = 2.21 | isolation_ref = <ref name="listsofjohn">{{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/112583|title=Grand View Spire - 5,821' CO|website=listsofjohn.com|accessdate=2021-03-28}}</ref> | parent_peak = Black Ridge<ref name="listsofjohn"/> | map = Colorado#USA | map_caption = Location in Colorado | map_size = 260 | label_position = right | country = United States | state = Colorado | region = Mesa | region_type = County | part_type = Protected&nbsp;area | part = Colorado National Monument | range = Colorado Plateau<br/>Uncompahgre Plateau<ref name="pb"/> | coordinates = {{coord|39.09105|N|108.722742|W|type:mountain_region:US-CO_scale:100000_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = <ref name="pb"/> | topo = USGS ''Colorado National Monument'' | rock = Wingate Sandstone | age = Late Triassic to Early Jurassic<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/colm/learn/nature/geologic-formations.htm Geologic Formations, National Park Service]</ref> | first_ascent = 1961<ref name="Jeff Achey 2002, page 125">Jeff Achey, 2002, ''Climb! The History of Rock Climbing in Colorado'', The Mountaineers Books, page 125.</ref> | easiest_route = {{YDS|5.8 A2}} climbing<ref name="listsofjohn"/> }}

'''Grand View Spire''' is a {{convert|5,821|ft|meter|adj=mid|-elevation|abbr=off|sp=us}} sandstone pillar located in Colorado National Monument, in Mesa County of western Colorado, United States. This 400-foot tower is situated on the west side of Monument Canyon, one mile southeast of the monument's visitor center, and {{convert|9|mi}} west of the community of Grand Junction. It is also 0.32 mile immediately south of Independence Monument, and 0.27 mile northwest of another climbing destination, Kissing Couple.<ref name="pb"/> Its unofficial name relates to its position at the tip of Grand View Overlook, one of several scenic viewpoints along Rim Rock Drive.<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis|id=174543|name=Grand View|accessdate=2021-03-28}}</ref>

==Geology== The spire is composed primarily of cliff-forming Wingate Sandstone, which consists of wind-borne, cross-bedded quartzose sandstones deposited as ancient sand dunes approximately 200 million years ago in the Late Triassic. The caprock at the summit consists of fluvial sandstones of the resistant Kayenta Formation. The slope around the base of Grand View Spire is Chinle Formation.<ref>Stanley William Lohman, ''The Geologic Story of Colorado National Monument'', Geological Survey Bulletin 1508, pages 28-30.</ref> The floor of the canyon is Precambrian basement rock consisting of gneiss, schist, and granites. Precipitation runoff from this geographical feature drains to the Colorado River, approximately three miles to the northeast.

==Climate== According to the Köppen climate classification system, Grand View Spire is located in a semi-arid climate zone.<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | issn = 1027-5606}}</ref> Summers are hot and dry, while winters are cold with some snow. Temperatures reach {{convert|100|°F|0}} on 5.3 days, {{convert|90|°F|0}} on 57 days, and remain at or below freezing on 13 days annually. The months April through October offer the most favorable weather to visit.

==Climbing== Established rock climbing routes on Grand View Spire:<ref>[https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105745492/grand-view-spire Grand View Spire Rock Climbing, Mountain Project]</ref>

* ''Southwest Defile Route'' – {{YDS|5.8 C2}} – 3 pitches – First ascent 1961 by John Auld, John Kuglin, Gary Ziegler<ref name="Jeff Achey 2002, page 125">Jeff Achey, 2002, ''Climb! The History of Rock Climbing in Colorado'', The Mountaineers Books, page 125.</ref> * ''Relics'' – class 5.10 – 5 pitches – FA November 13, 1991, by Mike Baker, Michael Kennedy, Bob Wade<ref>Cameron Burns, ''Selected Climbs in the Desert Southwest: Colorado and Utah'', 1999, Mountaineers Books, {{ISBN|9780898866575}}, page 32.</ref>

==See also== * List of rock formations in the United States

==Gallery== <div style="max-width: 500px;"> <gallery mode=slideshow> File:Scenery at Colorado National Monument, a preserve of vast plateaus, canyons, and towering monoliths in Mesa County, Colorado, near Grand Junction LCCN2015633032.tif|Grand View Spire in foreground as seen from Grand View Overlook.<br/>("The Island" in the distance.) File:Colorado National Monument - Grand View Spire.jpg|Grand View Spire centered, with Independence Monument to right File:Egypt Rock, Kissing Couple, Grand View Spire.jpg|Egypt Rock (left), Kissing Couple (center), Grand View Spire (right)<br/>as seen from Monument Canyon File:Grand View overlook, Colorado National Monument.jpg|Grand View overlook.<br/>L to R: Independence Monument, The Island, Grand View Spire, Kissing Couple. File:CONM Independence monument 1.jpg|Grand View Spire in foreground as seen from Grand View Overlook File:Grand View Spire, Colorado.jpg </gallery> </div>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * Weather forecast: [https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.0909&lon=-108.7227#.YGFhBLCSmUk National Weather Service] * Grand View Spire rock climbing: [https://www.mountainproject.com/area/105745492/grand-view-spire Mountainproject.com]

Category:Colorado Plateau Category:Landforms of Mesa County, Colorado Category:Colorado National Monument Category:One-thousanders of the United States Category:Sandstone formations of the United States Category:Rock formations of Colorado Category:Climbing areas of Colorado